With Odell Beckham Jr. (ankle), Brandon Marshall (ankle) and Dwayne Harris (ankle) all out for the season, Shepard has stepped into the No. 1 role and played well since returning from his own ankle injury.

“Sterling had a monster game. I mean, and I say that just from the standpoint of you look at the production that he had. You look at the competitiveness that he showed, the catches he made,” offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan said of Shepard this week. “There’s some things he did in the run game. Really responded well and it’s just a young player, but someone that’s called upon that’s played some football quite a bit for us in the past and someone that can be a leader for us and is assuming that role. Has also done a great job with the other receivers.